Hello all, it’s been a while, but I could use some help increasing yields. The set up. Two flower rooms. One room runs 19 315w CMH lights, two dehumidifiers, two res and two different flood and drain 5gal bucket systems. For a total of 48 plants. With a ac unit ducted in. The second room is the same but with 3 1000w double ended lights and 12 315w CMH We started in soil in 100 gallon smart pots and ran 12 plants per room(4x4 tray under each plant.) but switched to hydro after the second grow, to get quicker turn around. We currently don’t run co2 but will eventually. My last harvest was affected by the new ac addition to the rooms not bringing in fresh co2 but we corrected that now, we cool bring outside air in, for the winter. Next summer we will inject co2 from bottles. My rooms are 8 feet tall and my plants can stretch to max the room out if there’s much veg time, so I’ve been cutting veg back more and more till the plants fill the entire area but don’t get burnt. new plant height Should I switch to the 1000 wat lights and supplement with 315? Or any other ideas? I guess most people will ask about nutes and what not, I’m not new to growing, I’ve been at it a while, but we use Harley smiths signature series nutes. (Dirt cheap) and they work well. Run a-b from 700-1000ppm depending on plants. P-200 ppm in early flower K-200 ppm in late bloom And a 0-50-30 +chelated micro nutes @200-ppm throughout Fulvic acid, amino, and enzymes but they don’t raise the ppms much. All said and done the bloom ppms don’t go over 1400 ppm usually closer to 1200 but we’re dialing that in by recording everything I add in and when. Ph is a battle. In the mornings I ph it to 5.8-5.2, it floods every three hours, and after a while it creeps up to 6.5 or higher, and consumes up to 20 gallons of water a day from each res. That’s 40 gallons a room at the peak. Causing ppms to peak at 1400ppm. I add back water and correct ph the next day. I believe this is a issue as half the time the plants can’t eat, and I can’t be there all the time. Considering ph dosers for each res. To maintain 5.8 but is that going to fix the issues? This is long and drawn out but any advise would be great! Thank you all in advance! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
At 18 about 18 inches from tops of plants with the CMH and 2 feet with the 1000 watt open hoods. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Small buds from the lack of co2 harvest (black dog from hso) and slurricane from in-house Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Someone mentioned in SSS yesterday I think, but they do have co2 bags for sale around like $30 somewhere or another. Not sure what it would take. Maybe @Or_Gro or @Tbone Shuffle can advise on lights. Couple of other beasts lurking around here too.
Don't waste your money on CO2. The bags don't work, according to my tests using a CO2 meter. CO2 injection requires a closed, non-vented setup, otherwise the CO2 gets sucked right out before doing much. You shouldn't need de-humidifier, and might need humidifiers instead. According to the VPD chart, and my experience, the plants love high humidity, and it promotes fast growth. I stay in the green, while assuming that leaf temp is 5-7 F cooler than air temp. The main problem is too much growth that over-crowds tents, but that does give good yield. Another common problem is over-feeding, which I believe stunts growth. At some level, fertilizer becomes poison instead of food. I'm feeding 400 ppm or less with 60%+ humidity, using a 1-part nute only (Greenleaf Megacrop) and nothing else, to monster autos mid-flower in dwc, and they love it.
You got any pics of crops with mega crop? I use a similar cheap powdered nute but it’s 3 part so I can adjust NPK. I haven’t heard good reviews from MegaCrop all in one
My setup is in my basement, which is about 8 ft to the rafters. Too many past tall plants made me add a 1 ft extension to the left tent, and to build the right tent into the rafters. SCROGGing fails because there's just too much plant mass. This grow the plants got much too big, bigger than ever. I don't know which factors are causing this, but I use the VPD chart from sprout to harvest, 24-0 lights, and Megacrop. A picture of both tents: The above picture is the left tent (2 x 4). On the left is NightQueen, and on the right WhiteCrack. It's hard to tell, but the WhiteCrack is about 5 ft tall, and the NightQueen is catching up. The Right tent (3 x 3) picture is below, with 4 plants. A Dinafem WhiteWidowXXL is approaching 7 feet tall in the back, and growing higher than the lights, which are 6 feet away. I can't decide whether to chop off tops, or let them burn. The front right plant is a Mephisto ForumStomper that suffered from slow growth and lights too high, but it's still a scrawny 1 meter high. The most advanced plant, WhiteCrack, is several weeks from harvest at the 10 week mark. I think I slowed growth early on because of my first time use of Megacrop. I believed the recommended nute strength, but it was much too strong. I've had to ponytail it to keep it away from NightQueen.
Damn. That’s a lot of vegetation. That would drive me nuts. I like them short, wide, and defoliated. Lol.
I am feeling driven crazy and nuts. I didn't expect this, and thought I could handle the breeder listed heights. Next time I'll have to top, and hope it works. And grow fewer plants to get less vegetation. I have a weakness for growing too many plants in too small a volume to get a lot of variety. Doing that, there just isn't room for me to scrog. When I tried SCROGGing, the SCROGged branches kept growing past it, making it impossible to tuck anything more, and then on into the lights.
Six thoughts: This time - pull the tops down and to the outside, train them horizontal with inward curve, i call it swirling. The tops keep growing, but not into light; the lowers get more light and grow bigger. Put those shorter plants on pedestals (buckets, styrofoam blocks). Get all tops even/close to even, to maximize intensity on ALL tops...the lower ones are not gething even half the intensity of the tallest ones...Optimum situation (light-wise) is flat even lights (to maximize cross-lighting), flat even plant tops (get most intensity on nugs)... Next time - go 12:12 at a lower height. Keeps tops lower, doesn’t waste as much growth that ends up lollipopped. Then swirl as you go thru stretch. If you’re not already doing it - use a training method that creates multiple mains, spread the growth, and keep tops lower, flat, even. When you can afford it - get brighter lights and a light meter. You can use meter to find borderline of not enuff/too much intensity w intense lights, causing more growth with shorter internodes. Add co2, especially if you have high temps (co2 near 80-83F is peak photosynthesis temp).
4x4 600 watts. No CO2. Single Wonder Woman plant in a 10 gallon fabric pot of sunshine promix 4/20% course perlite, mostly GH fed. Day 53 from flip to 12/12.
I already chopped one bud for fun. Its really done looking. Not many white pistils at all. It's hard for me to do it this early. Today is day 59. I've grown this same clone about 4 times. It's always gone about 70-77 days. I'll start chopping tonight. I'm a dad with lots of stuff to do every day and I can't trim all day so I can only get so much of a monster like that done in a night. It can take me a week to trim a plant like that.
Eight hlg288s 780w at wall, supplemental reds, co2, 4 plants in a 4x4, 2-step harvest: 3.1lbs dry so far, another 1/2-3/4 likely after lowers dry.
Pretty much record setting yield per watt. Growmau5 got 1.9g/watt with 32 cree cxb 3590's in a 4x8 running them at only 850 watts. That was the best efficiency I knew of in larger scale. I think you're over 2g/watt?
I trim down to large branches with most of the leaves removed and then put them on a drying rack for about 5 days. Then I clean the sugar leaves up and put them in jars with 55% humidity packs, integra boost is what my local grow store sells. I don't like leaving that many leaves on. It's too moist around here. Don't want to risk mold.